Defining the Dual Meanings of Premise | Generated by AI
“Premise” has a couple of different meanings depending on context:
1. In logic/arguments: A premise is a statement or proposition that serves as the foundation for reasoning or an argument. It’s an assumption you start with to reach a conclusion.
Example:
- Premise 1: All humans are mortal
- Premise 2: Socrates is human
- Conclusion: Therefore, Socrates is mortal
2. In real estate/property: “Premises” (usually plural) refers to a building and the land it occupies, or a particular area within a building.
Example: “No smoking is allowed on the premises” means you can’t smoke anywhere in or around that building/property.
The word comes from Latin, originally meaning “things mentioned before.”
In “on-premise” (the IT term), it’s actually using the property meaning—referring to software/hardware located on the organization’s physical premises (their building/property), though the technically correct form is “on-premises” with an ‘s’ at the end.